One Time Wood Stain Review2.63/5(9)2.63/59

One Time® Wood Stain is a 100% solid stain that can be used on all types of unfinished exterior wood. One Time® Wood Deck Stain is a proprietary acrylate resin blend that protects by penetrating into the wood cells and cross linking into the wood. One Time® contains no solvent or water to evaporate and cures in the full UV ray’s of the sun.

The manufacturer claims a 7 Year Warranty on UV Fading, Water Damage, and Natural Weathering.

One Time® Wood Stain Scores (1-10)

Appearance After Initial Stain Application: 5

- One Time Wood Stain had a decent look to the finished wood. Very rich in color. We did not appreciate the drying problems that the One Time displayed. This caused a slick/sticky appearance.

Preventing UV Graying at 2 Year Mark:6

- One Time® faded considerably in the full sun areas. About 40% of the original color had remained. The shaded part of the deck still had stain left but unfortunately had darkened considerably.

Wear/Tear and Peeling: 9

- One Time® Stain showed little to no peeling or wearing. This is the only claim by the manufacturer that actually lived up to it’s warranty.

One Time Turned Black

Cost Per Square Foot:3

- One Time® promised coverage per square foot to be 2-3 times better spread rate then conventional stains. We did not get those results. Coverage was closer to 200 square feet per gallon on the 7 year old cedar deck. At $84.99 per gallon, this doubled the cost of a conventional decking stain.

Preventing Mold/Mildew/Algae:5

- The deck had a very dark appearance in the shaded areas. On closer inspection, the One time stain had a noticeable amount of black mold. This happened to be the same areas in which we had the drying issues (see below).

Ease of Application:6

- Applying One Time Wood Stain was fairly easy. The problem was the drying/curing of the stain. In the full sun areas, One Time® took 1-2 days to fully dry. The issue was the full shaded parts of the decking. Full curing/drying did not take place for 2-3 weeks. Manufacturer suggested that stain was over applied. Not sure if that was the case as the One Time® did dry in the sun.

Color Shifting (darkening) after 2 Years:4

- One Time® Wood Stain did very poorly at the 2 year mark. Stain had turned a dark black color in the shaded areas. In the full sun areas, the One Time® Stain had faded about to about 40% of what the original stain color had been.

Difficulty of Reapplication: 4

- One Time® would not be an easy product to reapply. The finish darkened in color substantially. Applying another coat would darken the appearance even more. A cleaning with a deck cleaner would not lighten the stain so a heavy duty stain stripping would be needed.

Overall Score One Time Wood Stain at 2 Year Period:5.25

- We were very excited to test One Time® Wood Stain and it’s 7 year warranty, unfortunately One Time® did not live up to it’s warranty claims. One Time® failed faster then many of the other deck stains that have been reviewed. One Time® Deck Stain lost a substantial amount of color in the sunny areas and turned a dark black in the shaded areas. The 7 year Warranty after review is limited. It states that it will “prevent” not “stop” UV fading for 7 years. A conversation with the manufacturer confirmed this point.

One Time® would have scored an “average” score if not for the warranty. The warranty claims brought our scores down. A deck stain that will last 7 years on a horizontal deck surface is not possible in our field tests.

Note: One Time® Wood Stain had been removed from the shelves in the Metro Detroit, Michigan area. When consulting with the local Ace Hardware store, the manager said it was removed due to poor sales and customer complaints with drying and not living up to it’s claims.

*All products tested and results are from our experience. We offer no guarantee of similar results. Take inconsideration that results may differ due to different wood types, exposure to UV radiation, and natural weathering.

Consumer Star Ratings - Please Rate Your Experience With This Product

-Please only Rate if Used Product! (5 Star=Excellent - 1 Star=Poor)

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Ease of Application

Appearance After Application

Preventing UV Graying at 2 Year Mark (1 Year For Exotic Hardwoods)

Wear and Tear After 2 years (1 Year For Exotic Hardwoods)

Color Shifting/Darken in Color (5 Star = No Darkening)

Preventing Mold/Mildew/Algae at 2 Year Mark (1 Year For Exotic Hardwoods)

60 Responses to “One Time Wood Stain Review”

I am a property manager in western Colorado. Many of my properties are at 11,000 feet. I come originally from the east coast where I thought that the environment was antagonistic to exterior finishes. My learnings there were basically without meaning when I came to Colorado. Some products are better than others but the primary message it to perform maintenance annually for all horizontal surfaces and wood based roofing. Vertical walls might stretch to two or even 3 years. I even have to wipe metal and plastic frames with penofin to keep the chalking away. I would love to host manufacturers here to test their products in our weather and altitude.

The higher the UV index, the quicker the stain will fail. Let us know a brand that you are interested in testing and we can get a gallon to you to try. I would prefer that you tested one of the higher ranked stains.

I am really needing help to know what product to use on my Garapa Hardwood deck. My contractor used a product by Rymar for exoctic hardwoods and it started to fail in just 6 months. Does anyone know anything about the Behr weatherproofing stain that is supposed to last for 10 years. I really need the right advice this time, we have so much on this deck and all manufacturers promise a lot, but who actually delivers?

Sally, exotic hardwoods require a coat of stain annually or sooner. This is the wood\’s fault, not the stain. Behr will not work on this and will not last more then the Rymar. Do not believe any warranties that \”lie\” like Behr or One Time! You will need to re coat this deck every year. Best to choose a stain that penetrates into the wood and can be easily reapplied with a light cleaning. I would look at Armstrong Clark in the Amber or Mahogany colors.

Thank you so much for your feedback. I will look into the Armstrong Clark product. Also are you familiar with the Defy product line for hardwoods? They are a synthetic resin and supposed to penetrate well on hardwoods. My painting contractor thinks it is important to sand the old Rymar stain off, than use a cleaner before adding a new stain. I was just planning to use a liquid stain remover and brightener before the application of a new product. The sanding will increase the cost of the project considerably, but if you agree this is a good decision, I will proceed with your advice. Since I now understand, that a coat of stain will have to be applied every year, I want a product that will not have to be sanded every year, but rather just re-applyed. Thanks for all of your help. Sally Nisley

Sally, I would strip and brighten then sand lightly if needed when done. Both Armstrong Clark and Defy are penetrating stains that can be cleaned lightly and re coated annually without the need for stripping. AC would probably be the easier of the two for this. Make sure to not over apply either. Typically only 1 coat on exotic hardwoods.

I used the One Time Wood product in 2006 on my new deck here in central Minnesota and have had no problems with it. I will be cleaning and reapplying One Time this summer as I have had none of the problems described in this review.

Jeff, Vertical siding always lasts 2-3 times longer then a horizontal deck surface. Not as prone either to turning black. We would look at the TWP 1500 if you want to switch to a better and less expensive brand.

I live in South Texas where our summer weather is brutal. I built a deck using cedar and bought Sikkens stain/sealer which was highly recommended from the lumberyard. It didn't last a year down here. After 3 years of looking at bleached out cedar I figured I had better save it while I could. I went through the trouble of getting on knees and sanding the whole thing using a belt sander and orbital hand sander using 60 grit. I was ecstatic that it brought it back to life and that it wasnt to late. I bought One Time Stain and applied it using a small roller with a friend coming in behind me with a dry paint brush to make sure puddles or excess stain was not left. AFTER I applied I started reading reviews about One Time and thought "Oh Shoot, what have I done". The stain recommends 72 hours dry time and I have done exactly what the stain has recommended. I used Clove Brown on my cedar and I have to say It is beautiful. Im not quite sure how everybody else is applying this stain but If you put a little elbow grease into it and do what manufacturers recommends I think you will have better results. I dont think applying this stain would be a good idea using a sprayer unless you back brushed to get off excess puddling, but that would entail walking all over it. Honestly I could not be happier with One Time stain and I will post comments every so often to describe how the stain is looking/working down here in this extremely hot area. The deck is in full sun all day with weeks of over 100 degree days during summer. If One Time can work down here it can work anywhere. I have learned that there is no stain that once applied will last (with color) for years. I guess thats the price/ work you pay to have that beautiful wood look.

I applied One Time to my deck (pressure treated wood) three years ago. So far, I am satisfied with the ballustars and rails, but somewhat disappointed in the performance on the horizontal surface. It has faded and worn down and algae is present every spring. It is on the north side of the house, so some of that may not be avoidable. There is no peeling, though. I must admit that I was influenced by a radio personality that hosts a DIY talk show.

I applied one-time natural in 2006. How should I clean and prep to reapply this year? The deck still looks great but show some signs of fading. All the wood is in great shape and of course with One-time I see no blistering or pealing.
i am looking to reprotect the wood and get that uniform look again.
The long term savings in time and money are well worth the initial expense!

The benefit of One Time is that when it is time to re-stain, you don't strip. You just clean and re-stain.

We put this on our deck 3 years ago and are extremely pleased. The cedar railings look nearly as good as the day we applied the stain. Of course, the horizontal decking has faded somewhat and we will probably re-stain next year. It is in direct Southern exposure sunlight all day from 9 until sundown, so nothing is going to last forever. The point is, we have done anything but hose it down occasionally and it looks great.

I used One Time on two new decks, one in direct sun and one covered. The direct sun faded out the first year and needed to be redone by the second year. I cleaned, reapplied and had the same results as the first time, far from being a one time stain or even lasting the seven years as advertised. On my covered porch, I did receive good results and it did last the seven years. But I will not be re-appling one time. I started using Ready-Seal and have had better luck. Not only is the product less than half the price, delivered from Texas to Michigan vs buying One Time locally, they do not claim some outlandish life expectancy. I am on my third year and totally satisfied with the results.

I applied One Time clove brown on an east facing, new cedar deck with a roller and brush. It took a little more than 2 weeks for it to ‘cure’ – and it was a sunny, dry period of time. During that 2 weeks, it was sticky but eventually came around – keeping the kids off of it was interesting. After a year, the high traffic areas were already showing wear. Now it’s been 2 years and the entire flat surface of the deck is showing that the stain is in failure mode. Vertical portions of the railing are fine but the rest of the deck is looking pretty sad. No need to reapply this stuff and see if it fixes it. Then I’ll just be 2 years further down the road and I’d expect the same results.

I’m going with the recommendation of this site to strip with the RAD Stain Stripper. Brighten with the RAD Brightener. Stain with TWP. We’ll see how that turns out.

Crsutycreature, TWP lasts about 2 maybe 3 years as well on horizontals. Difference that we have seen is that TWP does not darken like the OneTime. TWP does not claim a ridiculous warranty. TWP is fairly priced.

I used One Time natural on the pine, tongue and groove siding I was replacing at my older home. I only replaced the wood that needed it, and the whole house is due for new paint. I thought it would be beneficial to seal it, before prime and paint. An extra layer of protection couldn't hurt right. I rolled on some Kilz latex, to get it ready for the Sherwin-Williams Super paint, and the primer still is tacky, and has not dried, after several days time. Help.

I put this product, natural color, on my new cedar deck two years ago in July 2011. Now the start of the third summer, it looks terrible. The stain has peeled off most of the surfaces, both horizontal and vertical, especially the surfaces in the sun. I first sent the company an email – no answer. Then I filled out their online form – no answer. I sent them a letter with multiple pictures asking for replacement product to redo the deck – no answer. I finally called them and talked to a lady. She had my letter and pictures. She said the product wasn't at fault but that I should have waited a year to apply the product. She blamed it on mill glaze. There was no way I could wait a year since it was a rainy spring and mold was already appearing on the wood. I had a professional carpenter come out and look at my deck and he said it wasn't mill glaze but a poor product. The manufacturer would not honor their 7 year warranty. They would only send me replacement product for a slight price reduction. I chose not to buy more of their product and will tell others not too also. It is very expensive, didn't hold up even two years, and the manufacturer didn't honor their warranty. Don't buy this product – try something else.

We used OneTime. It went a long way! Even if it lasts half the time stated it has already been cost effective. Another great property, is it won't peel, like many other products. No need to strip before reapplying.

I have a house on a lake in far northern NY. The siding is a combination of cedar and cedar shakes. It was a new build, completed in May of 2011. What was originally applied to the siding was Sherwin Williams Deckscapes Exterior Stain Clear Sealer. Unfortunately, it has no UV protection, and any surfaces that get much exposure to the sun have become completely bleached out.
I'm looking into having it completely re-done. I know very little about this and have been given conflicting information by painters I've talked to, such as:
- power wash it first/ don't power wash it
- use a stripper on what's there/no need to use a stripper
- use an oil-based stain/use an acrylic stain
- use a product called Nature One/don't use Nature One

I would LOVE some recommendations from people who really know what they're talking about. That's why I was glad to find this board. Thanks in advance for your help and input.

I am planning on staining my deck of 15 years that has had a previous stain color. The stain color was a lighter Cedar Naturaltone semi-transparent. The contractor I am working with is suggesting that we go with a darker Porter PPG Acri-Shield stain. I did not see any reviews on this oil-based stain. Have you had any experience with this stain? I live in Atlanta, Georgia and my deck is pressure treated pine with mostly shade, partial sun and then full sun for part of the day. The deck does have exposure to moisture and mildew.

Hi, have you guys ever reviewed or tested the Penofin Verde line? I live in San Francisco, where I'm building a new redwood deck. Our local paint store around the corner carries this and was wondering about it's UV protection.
thanks!

I'm building a white oak table and coffee table for outdoor. I would like to keep it natural and let it grey over time. What is the best product to use for sealing the wood, make it water repellant and easy to clean? I live near the water in Orange County CA. Thanks for your help

Hello,
I am in Toronto, Canada. I have a deck which was Oxycleaned and stained with Grey Cabot Solid stain 3 years ago. It is peeling on all the old boards. New boards and vertical surfaces have held the stain. Can you recommend a product with better wear resistance in a solid gray stain?

Are you familiar with Wolman DuraStain? It's a solid color deck stain. Wolman was recently bought out by Rustoleum.
I'm thinking of using this product on a 600 sq ft boat dock in Missouri and adding some silica sand to at least one of the two coats for traction. I would appreciate any comments.

I have 300 sq feet of vertical grain, old growth Western Red Cedar, milled 3 months ago. The boards are 1×12, and no checking or warping, so good there. I am going to use this wood for 2- six foot high , by 9 foot wide driveway entry gates, and side gates . The frames are installed and powder coated. I live in Ojai California…25 degrees max low in Winter, and 110 in summer. We have gone from 40 inches of rain in an El Nino year, to 6 inches in this current drought. I need some advice on a product to both seal, protect, and bring out the beautiful tones of this wood. I was considering One Time, but they told me the same thing about needing to let he wood weather for a year, or else it could peel and flake. Their informations supposedly comes from the Amish woodworkers , in Ohio, that supposedly use the product. What would anyone suggest as a good product for this project? No horizontal panels other than the top of the gate frames. Lots of sun.

Thank you. The wood was dried, in the rough, re-sawn and planed smooth, 4 months ago. It has a nice smooth, but not glazed, surface. It has been stickered, outdoors, in the shade, as I don't want it to go gray on me, or lose it's outer lignum cells. Does "weathered" mean it has to be left in the sun and withstand rain? That would allow my wood to to exposed to graying, cupping and warping, as it is not installed. This why I want to put a finish on it, to prevent defects. I will pre-finish, after cutting to size, , so that I can seal all edges, and ends, as they will be difficult to get to once installed. Would I still need to use a brightener , if thee is no graying? Many thanks again, for the attention

I applied the One Time Wood Red Cedar 6 years ago and it's held up exceptionally well. I am extremely happy with the color, the ease of application, the quick curing and the overall durability.

I just pressure washed 6 years of crud buildup off the deck and the wood is in great shape. It's true that the One Time will fade over time, estimated by One Time at a rate of 10% a year. I would estimate much less fading in my setting which gets roughly 6 to 8 hours of direct sun a day. With clean wood now I will likely recoat in the very near future – and I will be using One Time again!

We used One Time four years ago and were thrilled with how it looked. However, after four years, the deck was getting noticeably lighter than the house (both done at the same time and with the same product). So we used the recommended cleaner and power washed away the dirt. The second time we applied the One Time, the deck turned almost black. It looks horrible. I will never use this product again unless you plan on stripping it down to bare wood like you do the first time you use. The product is used over a good quality redwood decking and cedar siding on the house. After four years, the house still looks beautiful but I am hesitant to try applying it the second time.

I applied One Time Red Cedar nearly 7 years ago to a new construction PT pine deck (after a couple months of weathering. It was obscenely priced, but my brother-in-law swore by it. It cured fairly well (not like the nightmares I've read). The ability to bead water wore off pretty quickly. I got some algae and mildew growth over the next couple of years. We pressure washed it each year and it brightened up somewhat, but certainly fading was an issue. After 3-4 years we re-applied. I found it was slightly inconsistent with some areas absorbing (and thus beading water better) than others. However, I did not get the blackening some have described. I would say my experiences have fallen squarely in the middle of others' experiences. The company's claims are ridiculous, but the product is not terrible. Coverage, fading, and protection all fell short of claims, but reapplication was pretty easy. I just pressure washed then rolled on a new coat. At this point though I'm needing to reapply and I have to decide if I want to use something else.
Can anyone tell me what I'm looking at to prep for a new product? I'm in Louisville, KY and the some of the deck gets full sun, but the stairs get partial sun (and lots of crepe myrtle blossoms/seeds from the neighbor's tree). The wood is nearly 7 years old.

Thanks for your review. You cannot apply anything on top of the Onetime so you will need to remove it first. Try a stain stripper like the Restore A Deck. Sand if you cannot get it all off. Brighten the wood when finished.

I guess my question/point is that while OneTime is ridiculously overpriced and over hyped, I haven't had horrible experiences with it and it sounds like I'm looking at a LOT of work to strip all of what is there (including ballusters and railings) to apply a new finish. Are other products superior enough to justify this level of work? I'm 7 years in on a PT Pine deck. I know there is no definitely / definitely not kind of answer, but I wondered what others would do….

Sounds like this review was based on bad preparation & therefore not following the instructions. I put this wonderful One Time stuff on my Redwood 2-car garage door 2-years ago & it has absolutely none of the problems stated in this review. Strip, Scrape, Wet Scrub, Dry, Sand & Brush Vacuum to solid clean wood (getting rid of any surface rot, feathering & removing any & all previous finishes) to then just lightly paint-on One Time. One Time goes a very long way, 1/3rd of the jug did my 130-S.F & I have another 14-years of future protection waiting on the garage shelf. ONE TIME is truly FANTASTIC, even at just my 2-year experience, the compliments from neighbors & realtors just keep coming!

A nice looking product however it is very very dangerous to the skin it Will cause first and second degree chemical burns be very careful do not let it touch the beare skin, I didn't see a warning label telling u that it is so harmful to the skin I would think twice before I would apply this stain. ONE TIME SHOULD WARN THE INSTALLERS.
I am a professional painter and are very familiar with a lot of coatings I have never come across a coating like this.
I had to go to my doctor fore treatment .Please be careful when applying this product.

The absolute worse stain ever. Instructions were followed by my husband (contractor for 30 years) and we're on day 5 and it has not dried. We've used Thompson's & Cabot for 25 years and have not had any issues. Dangerous to skin- cat stepped on deck and had to be taken to vet for chemical burns. Another $120 on top of the ridiculous cost of this product. DON'T WASTE YOUR $$$$.

*This is first and foremost a help site from our experience as wood restoration contractors. All stain and prepping manufacturer directions were followed with our reviews and ratings. We offer no guarantee of similar results. Take inconsideration that wood and deck stain results may differ due to prepping procedures, different wood types, exposure to UV radiation, natural weathering, etc.